Press release

Russia win gold medal with powerful exhibition

Russia team celebrate their gold medal at the end of the award and closing ceremony on Sunday night

Tijuana and Mexicali, Mexico, July 7, 2013 – European champions Russia added an even more important gem to their collection of the year with the gold medal they won with a spectacular performance in the title match against China of the FIVB Boys' U19 World Championship on Sunday night.

Russia team capped their amazing campaign with a splendid show of volleyball to the delight of the crowd at the Baja California High Performance Center.

After two close initial sets then it was a solo show of Russia in all facets of the game that led to a 25-23, 22-25, 25-17, 25-14 convincing victory. China, meanwhile, was reduced only to a shadow of the team that captivated the fans with their fast combinations and spotless defense.

“I talked to my players earlier today about the need to produce strong serves and organize the blocking,” said Alexander Karikov, the coach of Russia. “When we lost the second set I told them to remember our plan and that the only way to win against China was with our serves.”

“My team did not have a chance to win tonight against a team performing at the high level Russia did,” said Ju Genyin, the coach of China. “Technically all their players were at a superior level and you can’t play against that.”

Victor Poletaev hammered 25 points to lead the new champions followed by Dmitry Volkov with 14 and setter and the eventual Most Valuable Player Pavel Pankov with 13, including seven aces. Tang Chuanhang was the best scorer of China with 18 points while Xia Runtao had 15 in the losing effort.

It is the third gold medal for Russia in the history of the age-group biennial competition, having won also in 1999 in Riyad, Saudi Arabia and in 2005 in Algiers and Oran, Algeria. They also claimed silver medals as the former Soviet Union in 1989 and 1991 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Porto, Portugal, respectively, and a bronze in Cairo, Egypt in 2001. China had to settle for their second silver medal and third overall.

Poland took the bronze medal with a four-set victory (19-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-17) over Iran in a match where the winners scored 18 blocks, including a tournament-high 9 by Batlomeij Lemanski who shared the spotlight with captain Bartosz Bucko, both with 18 points.

“Mexico is a good country for me, because as a player I won a gold medal almost 40 years ago,” recalled Poland’s Wesilaw Czaja, “and now I win this bronze medal as a coach in another world championship.”

In the other two matches in Tijuana, Brazil defeated Argentina 3-1 (15-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-23) and Cuba held off France to win in five sets (25-17, 25-21, 21-25, 25-27, 15-8) for the positions fifth and seventh.

In Mexicali, Belgium beat Korea 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-18) for ninth place and Finland subdued Egypt in four sets (25-19, 23-25, 25-21, 25-13) for the eleventh place. Also, Chile edged Mexico 3-2 (27-25, 23-25, 20-25, 27-25, 15-13) and Turkey saw off United States 3-1 (25-20, 25-17, 15-25, 25-19) for the 13th and 15th places in the final standings.

In addition to MVP Pankov, the All-Star team of the competition consisted of the following:

More press releases

11.07.2013 14:59:22A long trip back home
Playas de Tijuana, Mexico, July 10 2013 - Before the sunset over the border between Mexico and the United States, Daouda Pare had the chance for a la...
More...

08.07.2013 10:27:21MVP Pankov was the best of the best
Tijuana, Mexico, July 7, 2013 – The MVP award of the FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship could not have gone to better hands than those of Russian Pavel...
More...

08.07.2013 07:26:08Russia performed at a superior level
Tijuana, Mexico, July 7, 2013 – Russia played phenomenal volleyball for the last two sets of their encounter against China for the gold medal of the F...
More...

08.07.2013 06:58:36Russia claim the gold medal with spectacular game
Tijuana, Mexico, July 7, 2013 – Russia capped an amazing campaign in 2013 winning the gold medal of the FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship with a domin...
More...

08.07.2013 05:03:15Mexico brings good luck charm to Polish Czaja
Tijuana, Mexico, July 7, 2013 – Mexico has reserved Poland’s Wieslaw Czaja very happy moments in his volleyball career both as a player and as a coach...
More...

08.07.2013 04:35:23Poland win bronze medal in impressive style
Tijuana, Mexico, July 7, 2013 – Poland recovered from losing the first set and went on to play text-book volleyball the rest of the way capturing the ...
More...

08.07.2013 02:21:02Coaches of Brazil and Argentina glad with results
Tijuana, Mexico, July 7, 2013 – The coaches of Brazil and Argentina praised the talent of their players and the way they performed in the match for fi...
More...

08.07.2013 02:00:39Brazil defeat South American rivals
Tijuana, Mexico, July 7, 2013 – Brazil won the South American duel with Argentina to capture the fifth position in the FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championsh...
More...